The Official 2018 Minor League Statline and Prospect Discussion Thread

[Docwaukee]

2 minutes ago, GrittyVeterans said:

Rivas is almost a full year younger and has a much better idea of the strike zone, imo

but right now that's proving to be all he can do.  At some point, pitchers throw meaningful strikes and scouting sets up defenses to make it real tough on those guys.  Putting the ball in play with at least a modicum of authority is needed to keep pitchers and defenses honest.  Let's hope Leon can pull out of his bad stretch.  But right now Regifo is proving he's just as valuable if not more.  

[Stax]

1 minute ago, NachoPop said:

How has Jahmai Jones looked since switching to 2B? Is the switch going to stick?

Jones has vastly improved from start of the season defensively at 2nd. I think he can stick.

[GrittyVeterans]

3 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

but right now that's proving to be all he can do.  At some point, pitchers throw meaningful strikes and scouting sets up defenses to make it real tough on those guys.  Putting the ball in play with at least a modicum of authority is needed to keep pitchers and defenses honest.  Let's hope Leon can pull out of his bad stretch.  But right now Regifo is proving he's just as valuable if not more.  

 I won't deny the bat needs work. But I like his glove and on base skills. Don't know much about Rengifo. How's his defense?

[Docwaukee]

2 minutes ago, NachoPop said:

How has Jahmai Jones looked since switching to 2B? Is the switch going to stick?

kind of like Howie did.  A little unnatural but his athleticism will get him through and turn him avg to slightly above.  It's all about reps right now.  You can tell which guys didn't grow up in the middle infield and were put there because of raw ability.  That's Jones.  He'll be a very good major league 2b some day.  

[Docwaukee]

1 minute ago, GrittyVeterans said:

 I won't deny the bat needs work. But I like his glove and on base skills. Don't know much about Rengifo. How's his defense?

probably about the same.  fringy SS.  good 2b.  

[Angelsjunky]

What a log-jam at 2B: Fletcher, Jones, Rengifo, Rivas. One ends up as the 2B of the future, another as the super UT. Will be fun to see how this pans out.

On the other hand, there is no certainty that Simmons is resigned after 2020. He'll be 31 and either very expensive or starting to show signs of slowing. But we shall see.

[Docwaukee]

Gatto with another nice start.  5.2ip, 3h, 1er, 3bb, 5k. 

[Docwaukee]

1 minute ago, Angelsjunky said:

What a log-jam at 2B: Fletcher, Jones, Rengifo, Rivas. One ends up as the 2B of the future, another as the super UT. Will be fun to see how this pans out.

On the other hand, there is no certainty that Simmons is resigned after 2020. He'll be 31 and either very expensive or starting to show signs of slowing. But we shall see.

his defense has looked a little less than otherworldly this year so far.  Part of that is because he's got very good defenders on either side of him now 

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Dochalo said:

Adell's swing is very Torii like.  damn.  But i agree it's more like torii when he was 27.   Torii didn't have the power or discipline that Adell has nor did he have the contact ability.  

We have to remember that Adell was supposed to be a super raw project.  One of two things are going to happen.  He's either going to push past everyone at every level and be in the majors by age 20 (next year) or, his lack of experience will come through when his athleticism can't get him to the next level.  

The truly elite prospects get to AA at a young age and just blow through it.  That doesn't mean they end up a superstar or that those who just progress through AA can't be either.  

There are plenty of superstar level guys that don't turn a corner at 19.  Betts didn't.  Trout did.  Vlad jr has.  Harper didn't but got called up anyway.  Machado didn't but got the call at 19 as well.  Lindor didn't.  JUp did.  

A really good major league comp for Adell (in my opinion) is George Springer.  Because Springer went to college, he didn't get to the majors as quickly, but the raw speed and power with tremendous athleticism is right there.  Another guy is Lorenzo Cain although I think Adell has much more raw power.  

Don't be surprised is Adell plateau's a bit in AA and then turns a corner at 22.  I have higher hopes than that, but even if that happens, I still think he can be a superstar.  

I don't think rawness had much to do with it.

Adell isn't super raw and wasn't seen as super raw his senior year by other organizations. Prep kids that are that raw don't go 10th overall in the draft. Teams don't spend that pick on a project. That's what the middle rounds are for. 

The concerns with Adell's refinement were no greater than any other prep position player.

With Adell, there was only one question, do the tools play up against advanced competition?

When Jo was a junior in high school, yeah, he was raw, and expected to go in the first few rounds, because he was a project. However, by the time he was a senior, every single tool of his was a standout tool. He even led the nation in HR's, and was a standout on the scouting circuit.

The only reason Adell wasn't a shoe in to go first overall was teams generally want to see a player stand out for longer than one year. That wasn't Jo. 

So rawness really wasn't the issue. If you're scouting him in high school, he was too good to be true. Kids don't just burst into the scene their senior year with his physique, with his athleticism, with his bloodlines, with his power, speed, everything. 

That just doesn't happen. 

Kids like that have a paper trail dating back to junior high school.

And really, that's the difference between Adell and Royce Lewis who went first overall. Lewis had been a darling of the scouting circuit since he was a sophomore and he was a standout and Junpeiro Serra, which has one of the better athletic programs in the country.

Lewis was a known commodity, a safer pick than Adell. But if you're comparing them by their senior year alone, it isn't close. Its Adell by a mile.

The Twins might've believed Adell's tools would play up, but they knew for sure that Lewis' would. With the first overall pick, you want a more known commodity.

The Angels believed the tools would play up. And they were right, they do, so far.

[Warfarin]

8 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

What a log-jam at 2B: Fletcher, Jones, Rengifo, Rivas. One ends up as the 2B of the future, another as the super UT. Will be fun to see how this pans out.

On the other hand, there is no certainty that Simmons is resigned after 2020. He'll be 31 and either very expensive or starting to show signs of slowing. But we shall see.

Yup!  3 of the 4 are in A+/A, so we have to bide some time before we see how they pan out, but I'm hoping Fletcher gets a shot.  His performance has certainly at least warranted a look. 

[eaterfan]

Sorry if I missed this, but I couldn't find it in this thread.

Was Canning supposed to start recently? He had been going every 5 days but it looks like he hasn't pitched since 5/14. I'm looking on MiLB.com so maybe it's off. Did he start and I missed it or was he skipped or delayed for some reason?

[Vlad27Trout27]

Suarez with another dominating start: 5 ip 2 hits 1 BB and 11Ks

  

[Angel Oracle]

4 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

Suarez with another dominating start: 5 ip 2 hits 1 BB and 11Ks

  

Suarez seems to be over qualified now for AA ball?   ERA is around 3.60 and WHIP is around 1.50 there, but he has 40 Ks (just 7 BBs) in 24.2 innings there.

[Warfarin]

6 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Suarez seems to be over qualified now for AA ball?   ERA is around 3.60 and WHIP is around 1.50 there, but he has 40 Ks (just 7 BBs) in 24.2 innings there.

Would like to see him continue to hone his craft.  The K's are awesome but that WHIP is pretty high.  He's only 20.  The highest level he reached last year with Burlington.  This year, just a couple of starts in A+ before rocketing up to AA.  I'd say give him another month or two, see how he does, then maybe he gets promoted to AAA for a couple of token starts to conclude the year.

[Make Angels Great Again]

He seems susceptible to getting knocked around. He has a low walk rate, high K rate despite non overpowering stuff, which all great, but a .279 BAA.

That's either really terrible luck or when they're making contact, he's getting hit hard. Although at the same time, only 9 HRs in his career 219 IP, so who the phuck knows. He's an aberration. 

[eaterfan]

28 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

He seems susceptible to getting knocked around. He has a low walk rate, high K rate despite non overpowering stuff, which all great, but a .279 BAA.

That's either really terrible luck or when they're making contact, he's getting hit hard. Although at the same time, only 9 HRs in his career 219 IP, so who the phuck knows. He's an aberration. 

I think he has a pretty good GB/FB ratio, too. Maybe better fields and better defenders behind him will help with his hits allowed.

[Inside Pitch]

30 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

He seems susceptible to getting knocked around. He has a low walk rate, high K rate despite non overpowering stuff, which all great, but a .279 BAA.

That's either really terrible luck or when they're making contact, he's getting hit hard. Although at the same time, only 9 HRs in his career 219 IP, so who the phuck knows. He's an aberration. 

He's been incredibly UNlucky in the amount of hit's he's allowed.    

http://www.statcorner.com/pitch/660761/Jose-Suarez   Check out the average on balls not hit over the fence...

Suarez RBBIP is .524 -- the league average is .338

He's running a FIP of 1.24

Edited May 21, 2018 by Inside Pitch

[Chuck]

29 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

He seems susceptible to getting knocked around. He has a low walk rate, high K rate despite non overpowering stuff, which all great, but a .279 BAA.

That's either really terrible luck or when they're making contact, he's getting hit hard. Although at the same time, only 9 HRs in his career 219 IP, so who the phuck knows. He's an aberration. 

The fact that he gets a bunch of ground balls and weak contact, in addition to a shit ton of K's, he's looking pretty legit to me.

Also, consider he's one of the youngest players in Double-A on the mound. 

[Warfarin]

4 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

He's been incredibly UNlucky in the amount of hit's he's allowed.    

http://www.statcorner.com/pitch/660761/Jose-Suarez   Check out the average on balls not hit over the fence...

Suarez RBBIP is .524 -- the league average is .338

He's running a FIP of 1.24

Gotta imagine if he keeps posting lines like what we saw today, at his age and level, he and Canning will both make appearances on the top 100 prospect list.

I'm thinking we'll see:  Adell, Marsh, Canning, Suarez, and maybe Jones.  Ohtani and Barria will both be ineligible.  Maitan probably will drop off due to further concerns of his swing + not playing much.

[Inside Pitch]

Just now, Warfarin said:

Gotta imagine if he keeps posting lines like what we saw today, at his age and level, he and Canning will both make appearances on the top 100 prospect list.

I'm thinking we'll see:  Adell, Marsh, Canning, Suarez, and maybe Jones.  Ohtani and Barria will both be ineligible.  Maitan probably will drop off due to further concerns of his swing + not playing much.

FWIW -- I think both guys are playing themselves into the conversation performance wise...  But those BBA lists are slanted towards projectable athletes.   Undersized guys like Canning and Suarez will get mentioned, may even make the back end of the top 100 -- but their lack of physical upside will almost always temper their rankings IMO.  

All that being said -- if their end of season numbers compare favorably with what Billy Wagner was doing in 1995 -- they may just force their way on there....  like Billy did.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wagner002wil

[Warfarin]

2 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

FWIW -- I think both guys are playing themselves into the conversation performance wise...  But those BBA lists are slanted towards projectable athletes.   Undersized guys like Canning and Suarez will get mentioned, may even make the back end of the top 100 -- but their lack of physical upside will almost always temper their rankings IMO.  

All that being said -- if their end of season numbers compare favorably with what Billy Wagner was doing in 1995 -- they may just force their way on there....  like Billy did.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wagner002wil

Yeah, I see them both as possible bullpen options for us come September/October.  Suarez has to be added to the 40-man this offseason, so we might as well give him a jump start in September and see how he does as our 2nd lefty out of the pen.  For a team looking for RP options, this could be neat to see.

As for next season - I see Canning and Suarez as likely contributors.  We'll have a sudden surplus of pitching - Ohtani, Skaggs, Heaney, Barria, Tropeano, Canning, Suarez.  Maybe Castillo as an up-and-down arm.  I'd list Shoemaker, but I think he isn't offered a contract and we move on.  Same with JC Ramirez.  Meyer I think we try out as a reliever instead of a SP.  Richards we would have to re-sign - we'll see if we do.

Still.. lots and lots of options.  We are in a good spot, at least for SP.

[Inside Pitch]

15 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

Yeah, I see them both as possible bullpen options for us come September/October.  Suarez has to be added to the 40-man this offseason, so we might as well give him a jump start in September and see how he does as our 2nd lefty out of the pen.  For a team looking for RP options, this could be neat to see.

I would not mind them being put into the pen now sooner than that.    The pen is the teams biggest gaping wound.  We have seen the Angels take guys and move them from RP to SP of late -- and it's hard to argue that the guys currently in the rotation don't deserve to be there.  If Canning and Suarez stand the best chance of bridging games from the 6/7th to the 9th innings then so be it.

[Angel Oracle]

4 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

I would not mind them being put into the pen now sooner than that.    The pen is the teams biggest gaping wound.  We have seen the Angels take guys and move them from RP to SP of late -- and it's hard to argue that the guys currently in the rotation don't deserve to be there.  If Canning and Suarez stand the best chance of bridging games from the 6/7th to the 9th innings then so be it.

It would help keep the innings down enough this season.    Then once the pen is fixed, they resume their starting pitching development.  

[Warfarin]

11 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

I would not mind them being put into the pen now sooner than that.    The pen is the teams biggest gaping wound.  We have seen the Angels take guys and move them from RP to SP of late -- and it's hard to argue that the guys currently in the rotation don't deserve to be there.  If Canning and Suarez stand the best chance of bridging games from the 6/7th to the 9th innings then so be it.

I'd prefer them continue along their current trajectory.  I think what I have seen other teams do recently is keep them as SP through the end of July/beg August, then transition into the pen.  While our big league club needs some help right now, I want our prospects to continue their future development, as we are going to be relying on those guys for many years to come.

We can cobble together a bullpen for the next few months.  It may not be pretty, but I think we can do it.

[Chuck]

32 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

I would not mind them being put into the pen now sooner than that.    The pen is the teams biggest gaping wound.  We have seen the Angels take guys and move them from RP to SP of late -- and it's hard to argue that the guys currently in the rotation don't deserve to be there.  If Canning and Suarez stand the best chance of bridging games from the 6/7th to the 9th innings then so be it.

The Angels could pull what they did with Chuck Finley when he first came up for the stretch run with both of these guys, or at least just Suarez.